Multilingualism linked to delayed brain aging in new study

A study presented at the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies conference in Barcelona suggests that learning foreign languages can significantly delay brain aging. Researchers found that multilingual individuals possess brains that appear neurologically younger than their chronological age.

According to the findings, bilingual individuals had brains appearing approximately six years younger than monolinguals, while those speaking three languages appeared seven years younger. Notably, individuals speaking four languages showed brains that appeared roughly 13 years younger.

To measure neurological age, scientists from Spain, Chile, Argentina, and Dublin used magnetoencephalography to monitor brain activity in 728 participants with varying linguistic abilities. They utilized artificial intelligence to process results and calculate normal brain connectivity levels for different ages. A second independent group of 144 participants was also scanned for comparison. Dr. Lucia Amoruso of the Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language stated that multilingual people had brains that appeared younger than expected for their age.